Decide and Deliver

• Marcia Blenko argues that decision effectiveness correlates positively with employee engagement and organizational performance. How do you think that employee engagement relates to decision effectiveness?

This is an interesting concept and I think that I completely agree, I feel that this is why it is so important to focus on the employer to employee relationship. Employee engagement is what can make or break a company, I think we have to realize that an employee is a direct representation of management and the company itself. If the employee is not engaged in the well-being and growth of an organization it will show in the organizational performance; a company’s employees are on the front line and generally the first point of contact between a customer and an organization. If the employee is fully engaged and enthusiastic about the decisions being made for change in a company then the quality of their devotion will show in how effective a company’s progress is.

• What are some impediments to good decision making?

Some of the impediments which were mentioned by Marcia Blenko from Bain and Company were not having the right information, leadership behavior, and perhaps not having the right talent. Leadership behavior is essential when it comes to making all of the right decisions, without a strong and confident leader that makes good decisions it is hard for a company to excel. Certain leaders just might not have the right experience or open minded enough to take an organization to the next level; this is where not having the right talent can come into factor. A mixture of these impediments to good decision making can have a negative effect on an organization and it is up to management to seek the right people for the job.  

• Blenko suggests that there are four elements of good decisions: quality, speed, yield, and effort. In your opinion, is there anything missing from this list?

Experience, I think that having someone with a background that is filled with experience is essential when we think about what are key elements to good decision making. At the age of thirty I know that I am no longer the same person that I was a decade ago, I have learned so much and gained so much leadership experience. Without this experience I do not think that I can make the same decisions that I am able to make today, with age and different challenges I feel that so much has changed. I think that if a company is serious about good decision making they need to find someone that has been through a good amount of difficult situations, rather they have succeeded or failed I think that all experiences can be good.

• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

I can take away a better understanding of what goes into good decision making and what an organization might be looking for in a leader. I think that this exercise offers a good insight into what companies are looking for when they hire a leader. I also think that this exercise has helped me think about what does make a good leader and good decision making. Among those elements I do believe that quality and effort have to be at the top of that list. I have always been a firm believer that hard work and dedication can transform an organization or a person and help them reach the next level of success.  

Questions:

How can you measure how many good decisions an organization has made over the course of a year?

Is there a way to test someone’s leadership skills prior to hiring them?

If you were to bring in an organization to help you make better decisions how quickly would those results show? Is it worth the investment?